Happy is a State
by Nine90
Summary: Jake the Dog was always happy. He had everything, a good girlfriend, kids and the best brother one could ever wish for. Yet, their last adventure together went wrong, tearing the two apart. Now, Jake is always sad, brooding for a life long gone.


**Happy is a State**

Happy is a state Jake the Dog was usually found in. Most of the time, he was content and happy with his life. He had a great younger brother, a great girlfriend and amazing children. Sure he occasionally got angry, stressed, confused, scared or embarrassed but above all, happy was a state he was most likely to be found in…

Sad is a state Jake the Dog was in today. His usual cheeriness and joy-spreading smile was gone. He was no longer so affectionate and happy; all his worries were coming crashing down on him. Seeing his brother injured and laid out on the hospital bed had awoken something within, something he, while he felt, never truly understood it… he felt scared.

It had been a day just like any other, adventuring and binging on video games. Yet, around midnight they were no longer in the usual state. As games in the afternoon had rolled into adventures in the evening, they had dug deeper into the hole that led them here. By sunset Finn and Jake were deep in the clutches of a cave they had discovered, as yet unaware to the dangers lurking just beyond every corner, receding and luring them deeper and deeper still…

Now that Jake looked back over it all, he clearly saw the signs. The monsters, the traps… the skeletons… all pointed to the grim harshness that had found them deep within the cave. Jake still shuddered, remembering what had nearly taken his beloved brother away from his.

 _When you stare into the abyss long enough, it stares back at you._

The apex trap the cave sprung on them was exactly that, a chasm eliciting insanity into the sturdiest and sure-footed of minds. Finn had not stood a chance, no longer deciphering farce from fact. The sword, even before Jake reacted, had been unsheathed and turned on its master…

Jake yelped at the sudden pain he felt just remembering the moments. It was physically ailing him to remember the very moment. Jake's yelp had drawn attention

"Are you okay Jake?" Princess Bubblegum asked worriedly, putting a hand on his arm. Jake tried nodding but found the memory too deeply entrenched into his conscience to even shake it off. He felt cold but comforting arms lift him up. He unwittingly snuggled deeper into the cold bosom of his vampire friend. Tears came naturally to him…

Happy was not a state Jake thought he could ever leave. Happy was not a state Jake now thought he could go back to. The glinting sword, turned on its master, burned deeply into his mind. Finn had got in a single cut before Jake tried pulling his arm away. Finn's growls had been inhuman. His own shuddering breaths echoed in his mind, mixed in with the monstrous growls Finn had made in that cave.

The cave had ruined his world…

It took years to heal the wounds, for both Finn and Jake. Yet it took a single letter to make the latter realize how far gone the two truly were. The cave was hell, it was death… it was the end. Finn and Jake had stopped adventuring after that, choosing instead to quietly retire to their own lives… but only for a week.

Finn, he had once sailed away. Jake was no longer sure where Finn was. For all Jake knew, Finn could very well be living in the Candy Kingdom. One thing Jake knew, whatever Finn had seen in that cave had pushed Finn away from his friends and family.

The letter had been short, yet carrying enough firepower to level entire cities. It was calm, yet thunderous enough to crumble a million mountains…

 _Sorry Jake, I can't stay with you forever, I can't be a hero._

 _The cave showed me this truth. I have to go…_

And leave he did, without a trace, in the dead of the night… There was not much Jake could've done for it. The letter now served as a reminder of what he had lost. The letter was a reminder of all the bittersweet memories Finn and Jake shared…

The dog he left behind was not the one everyone knew. This new specter was but a mockery of Jake the Dog that people knew. "Jake" the Dog no longer laughed, cried, smiled, joked or any of the thousand other emotions.

Jake was hollow inside…

A new man, built like an ox, was the talk of the town. Everywhere Jake went, he heard of this mysterious new man. If myths were to be believed, the man had swum all across the southern sea to reach Ooo. Saner elements however told the true tales, of a man who had landed on the edge of Southern coast, received by Fire Guard.

If word on the street was to be believed, he had asked to be led to this very kingdom…

How he knew about the Candy Kingdom or what his purpose here was great fodder for many a debate. Yet, Jake knew exactly _who_ he was and what his purpose here was…

Finn…

Every time he remembered the name, Jake's eyes would tear away. Yet, if Jake followed the passing of years, which he no longer did, Finn would have been an old man, not the built-like-an-ox young man that many were singing the praises of. There was another possibility, one that Jake was sure was true…

To test his suspicions, Jake wandered airily into the Candy Palace. In the center, the pinnacle of his hopes stood in all his glory, surrounded by Princess Bubblegum, Marceline the Vampire Queen and the Ice King…

He was a mirage for Jake.

The man looked just like his lost brother, even acted and talked like him, yet the combination of blue eyes and black hair sung an entirely different song. The man was not Finn…

"Jay Mertens, at your service…" The name stung Jake's ears as the stranger extended his hands to meet the dog as Princess of the beautiful and alluring Candy Kingdom introduced the two to each other.

"Jake… Jake the Dog." Jake could barely choke out…

 _No need to hear your voice or see your face_

 _To know that you are here with me_

Happy was a state Jake had lost a long time ago. He had lost his youthful joy and spontaneous attitude a long time ago. His past always choked away all that he held dear. He no longer laughed like he had once done. He no longer ventured out like he once did. The cave had burnt his heart, torn it to pieces…

Happy was a state Jake was in now. He may not, and may never again, see his brother but to him, this was close enough. He knew, even before asking, who "Jay Mertens" was… The man was his _nephew_ , sailed across the seas to see the lands and meet the people his father had once known…

Jake finally felt happy after years of misery…


End file.
